Circus Peanuts

There are many surprising things about Circus Peanuts. In fact, everything is so incongruous that there’s nothing that’s not surprising. That’s how jam-packed full of nonsense they are.

They’re shaped like peanuts, big big peanuts in the shell. But they’re orange in color. The orange color bears no relationship to the flavor, banana. And why even call them Circus Peanuts? Because they’re jumbo sized and you might feed them to an elephant ... come on, that’s a serious stretch.

They’re one of the most enduring candies in the United States, made first in the 1800s. Kind of like the Candy Corn of marshmallows, no one really knows when they started for sure. Except in the case of Candy Corn where many companies have tried to take credit, no one really bothers to try to brand Circus Peanuts. You don’t even see a TM after the name! No one knows the history of Circus Peanuts because everyone is so confused by them that they wouldn’t even know where to begin.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to clear much up. We can all continue to live in blissful mild confusion (and perhaps irritation that so many niblets of corn are wasted on so many Circus Peanuts).

Circus Peanuts are made by at least four different companies in the United States: Brach’s, Melster, Farley and Spangler. Melster, based in Wisconsin makes more than Brach’s & Spangler put together, though often you don’t see them packaged under the Melster brand, they’ll be done for grocery stores and drug store chains or maybe just found in bulk. In this article from 2003, it turns out that Spangler alone makes nearly 4 MILLION POUNDS a year. What? Who the heck is eating all these ... or are they just used as decoration or perhaps packing materials.

Circus Peanuts are shaped like peanuts, usually light orange/peach in color and banana-flavored. When fresh, a bag of Circus Peanuts can smell more like fingernail polish remover. When stale they can smell like, well, nothing at all. The artificial banana flavor must be some volatile compound that evaporates when exposed to air or perhaps a fierce stare.

Technically they’re a marshmallow: they’re sugar, corn syrup (and/or high fructose corn sweetener) and gelatin with some color and flavor thrown in. The gelatin helps the whipped sugar keep its foam. But instead of being extruded as most marshmallows are, these are molded, which might explain some of their density. Because of the high amount of corn syrup in them, they’re rather moist when fresh and can become stale and pretty firm. They’re not quite smooth in texture like most marshmallows, instead there’s a bit of graininess to them. The look like they’re made of fine porcelain of terra cotta. They can even make that clinking sound if you wait for them to get very stale.

I have bought Circus Peanuts before, usually when I find them ridiculously on sale, like 25 cents for a 10 ounce bag. Then I open the bag, get woozy from the fumes and remember why I don’t hang out in nail salons. Then I eat one or two and curse myself for buying them. Later I’ll find myself sneaking into the bag and eating them one or two at a time. When eaten with other candy or salty treats like popcorn, they’re not so bad. (Try Twizzlers or Cheetos.) Not a ringing endorsement.

If there’s one thing to be celebrated about Circus Peanuts it’s that they led to the creation of Lucky Charms. A General Mills team was charged with creating a kids cereal in only six months. So they sat down with everything available to them, from Cheerios and Wheaties to a bunch of candy from the store shelves (apparently that’s what a kid’s cereal is made from). They put bits of stale Circus Peanuts (now called “marbits” in the industry for marshmallow bits) in a sugared Cheerios and everyone loved the idea. A cartoon mascot and bit of Americana was born. So if you find yourself stuck with some extra Circus Peanuts, perhaps chop them up and throw them in your breakfast bowl.

man, i only have these maybe once a year but i still have an unnatural fondness for circus peanuts. for the record, i also like marshmallow peeps and candy corn, which i guess some people also find objectionable

I’d love to see you dig a little deeper on this one. Circus Peanuts rate an “unappealing” yet you confess to not only purchasing them (admittedly, at a steep discount) and then nibbling on them in spite of yourself? 3 out of 10 notwithstanding, they must have *something* going for them. Is it the texture? nostalgia? the cognitive disconnect of orange color/banana flavor/peanut shape? the underlying compressed marshmallowiness?

Inquiring minds (with their own inexplicable candy fetishes) want to know how you explain this one.

A banana smell that reminds you of nail polish remover? Hmm… My guess would be isoamyl acetate. Amyl acetate is the classic ester people describe as banana, but many people can’t smell it.

Isoamyl acetate, though, maybe. It smells like banana/pear or “juicy fruit”. I know it’s also used as a solvent for some varnishes, although nail polish remover is usually ethyl acetate, so a bit smaller ester.

I love Circus Peanuts! I know they’re gross but I love the texture of them and eating them reminds me of my childhood. I love how artificial they are, too. I usually get them once or twice a year and can’t finish the bag (sometimes because they’ve hardened), but I always get anxious when I *don’t* see Circus Peanuts in the convenenience store.

I have to admit to an unhealthy love of circus peanuts. My dad buys them a bag at a time and then consumes them a few at a time over the next half a week. They are very much sugar, but they aren’t nearly as bad as some other items of candy, and they are definitely food I can have fun with.

I haven’t had Circus peanuts since maybe I was 7.
I’d say they’re about as appealing as Necco wafers.
Curious if you’ve rated anything lower (Appalling or inedible)?
Maybe I need to revisit the circus peanut.

Circus peanuts are the greatest! Growing up in the same town as Spangler (Bryan, OH) made them readily available… The problem now is that I live in Indiana and can’t find Spangler brand and have to settle for often stale “off brands”. A little bag squeeze never hurts to find a good package though.

Oh, I feel so protective of the poor circus peanuts! I love those things, and there one of the few candies that I really get cravings for (probably because my subconscious knows they’re impossible to get here in the UK!). And I’ve got such strong memories of eating these in my grandma’s kitchen when I was little, whenever I bite into one, I’m instantly transported back to there.

So stop with all the circus peanut hate, ok? YOu’re ruining the memory of my (now dead) grandma!

I was in a play in seventh grade, Meet Me in St. Louis, where the character had to eat a whole box of chocolates. We used circus peanuts for the first, oh I don’t know, maybe month of rehearsals. At first I really liked them but buy the end I was nauseaus just thinking about the scene. Then we switched to real chocolates. I found out that I can eat a lot more circus peanuts then chocolates without throwing up. And as I write this I wonder, why didn’t the adult director use something like grapes in rehearsal? During the first performance I accidentally bit the ankle of another cast member. I was supposed to fake bite him. I bit hard. I blame the rough transition from circus peanuts to chocolates.

good enough cook - you’re right, I need to get my head on straight. It’s one of those candies that I hate myself for eating, don’t enjoy but still keep buying. I’ll see what else I can dig up at the All Candy Expo later this year.

Brad & Suzanne - there are a few very bad reviews, it’s usually reserved for candies that are trying to be something they’re not. (In fact, there’s another Melster in the 2s) But I actually like Necco wafers.

Adrien - what’s #2? (I should probably review that too.)

Summer - I’ll have to take a peek at the Target branded ones. I wonder who makes them for them.

Sera - yeah, give Circus Peanuts a try, see if you can find them individually wrapped in a bulk place somewhere so you only need to purchase three or four. Then you HAVE TO blog about the recipe!

TheMatt - I’m not sure if the fact that I think it smells like nail polish makes me perceptive or crazy. Or maybe just crazy perceptive. Or perceptively crazy.

Deborah - we’re always fascinated with that which terrorizes us!

Carol - I’m glad they keep them in stock!

Magda - because they’re mostly air, they do LOOK like a lot of candy. I don’t think 35 calories for a big piece like that is too bad.

Clark Gilbert - I really need to go to Bryan sometime, I’d love to see Spangler.

Jess - I’d like to see the Circus Peanut defense used in court.

melissa - don’t worry about the poor circus peanuts ... with probably more than 5 million pounds made every year, I’m sure they’ll do fine. It is so nice to see so many nostalgic associations.

Circus Peanuts! Wow, does that take me back. My late grandmother had an extreme sweet tooth, and she also had a glass pumpkin-shaped jar that she always kept filled with treats for when I and my little brother came over. Sometimes it would be Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, which we liked, but sometimes it would be Circus Peanuts, which we did NOT like and she insisted she bought for us. It wasn’t until after she died that we figured out she bought them for herself.

While I’ve never seen Circus Peanuts here in BC, I adore marshmallow bananas (and strawberries) which I suspect is practically the same thing. My fondness of them comes from my Grandpa who always gave them to us. What’s with these grandpas loving the sweets?

My granddad loved these! He always had them around the house. He’d keep some in the dresser and some in the fridge. He’s actually the only person I knew to eat these candies. There was always a supply of them somewhere in my grandparents’ house.

I CANT GET ENOUGH OF THESE STUPID THINGS(ONLY WHEN VERY FRESH THOUGH) I squeeze the bag first….my family cant understand why i like them, i dont understand why i like them…just a habit from my childhood i guess….keep them cooking….........

Oh man I love these things, even though my friends always thought I was crazy for it! I think the attraction first began at Thanksgiving when I was 8 years old. My mom’s friend Barbara would use them to make turkeys, I think using an apple for the body and red licorice rope for the eyes and nose? It was a great way to keep all the kids busy with a craft project and keep us out of the kitchen at the same time. Oh well, the orange color is horrifying, but I could eat these plain or stale.

I am sitting here chuckling to myself. Would I ever imagine me at 54 years old commenting about Circus Peanuts? Call me “nutty” forgive the pun but I happen to like them. They are difficult to find but I have prevailed. Today I took a ride to purchase some. Since the store is not very close to me I bought three bags. That should last me for a good while. I was looking on the internet for sources and I happen to come across this site. My curiosity got the best of me so thus my writing. To all my co-conspirtors Happy eating!

I bought some Circus Peanuts last week at Dollar General & they were the worst I had ever eaten. They were not hard but did not have that good flavor that you expect with the first bite or the great aroma when you open the bag. Even my son (who also loves them) would not eat them. I will never buy a Melster Circus Peanut again. Who makes the best Circus Peanuts?

In response to has the best ones. The store that I purchse them at is called the “Family Dollar.” They are made by the Spangler Company. They are very aromatic and tasty. The package is 1o ounces and they cost $1.00 per bag. Since the store is a distance from my home I buy several bags at once and put them up.

I have heard that Brachs makes very good ones too. I have never seen them though. When if I ever do I will definitely try them. I know at Easter time Brachs makes a pastel array of them and those are good.

Recently I read somewhere that Target has some too that are good. When and if I ever make it to one I will also try them. Target is closer to me than the Family Dollar. All in all it is worth the effort to make the trip for them!

Blargh! My 75-year-old mother is an addict. I’m buying them 5-6 bags at a time and more. She likes them stale and will open bags (and Peeps, too) and let them sit until they get good and hard. And she feeds them to her dog, too! Around here we call them chemical peanuts, a most apropos name, I think. She also loves Necco wafers and candy corn.

Every now and then I get reminded via e-mail that someone else has commented about Circus Peanuts. It is fun to see what people have to say. I may have had a bad day and it makes me chuckle to read the pros and cons. Keep eating and enjoying one of lifes simple pleasures (inexpensive too.)

I never knew people actually enjoyed this “candy”. I just remember as a little girl tricker-treating that the circus peanut was the worst candy ever. It was almost an insult get that tossed into your bag. This year I got it as a dare candy along with target’s candy corn soda. That should be fun.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who HATES these things…however, I don’t understand how people still buy them if they smell bad and taste bad.

My hate for these nasty treats comes from a birthday party experience from my childhood. My friend had a huge bowl of these peaunt shaped treats that looked really good at the time. I dove in and had a handful…..within 30 minutes I was barfing up a technicolor mess of candy…GROSS…I can’t even look at them now without a cold sweat breaking out on my forehead. My own kids try to get me to eat them but I say “NO WAY” and warn them of the dangers of trying them.

i love circus peanuts by BRACHS, but i never noticed. now when i get them i probably will. (power of suggestion). problem is BRACHS only makes them for holidays like EASTER & THANKSGIVING and even then i can’t find them. sometimes walgreens’ has them but they are very irratic in the products they sell. i’ve always found i can imagine different flavors for the different colors.

I just love these odd little fat monsters. I was actually trying to find a recipe to try to make them homemade when I stumbled across this site. I treat myself about once every three months to a bag. It usually takes me about a week to eat them all. I don’t know if it is the flavor or the texture, but I they are very addictive. I find myself sneaking back into the bag for more. I have to literally force myself to stop (just back away from the candy, lady!) My husband bought a bag for me at our local Atwood’s farm supply store (go figure). They were the best I had ever tasted (I ate this bag in three days and was very ashamed of myself). They cost a little more, but the bag was quite a bit bigger. I can tell you that I simply HATE the ones from CVS pharmacy! I can’t remember the name of the company that makes them, but don’t waste your time or money!

would like a recipe to make the Circus peanuts. Has anyone tried to make them or know where i can get a recipe to make them? I love them so much and they are really get hard to find and i go through a bag or so a week. Would love to try and make them.

I love love love circus peanuts. I haven’t had them in awhile, but I am salivating right now just thinking about them. MMMMMMMMM. I think I’m going to go out to the drug store in a bit and buy a big bag of them!!!

The MELSTER brand must be the best brand in the world. I like them just a bit older than super fresh. The semi firmness that the very fresh ones lack, is what makes me want more.

I only have one other problem besides getting hooked on them, when I eat them, I get a frog-in-my-throat. In other words, phlegm and Jr. Whoppers do it too me too. What is the connection between the two? I have no idea so I need to avoid these two things. The latter is easy, but them circus peanuts, it takes a strong will-power not to buy them.

If anyone has any clue as to why I get this congestion in my nose & throat, please let me know. A possible allergy, but to what? *scratchinghead*

My email address: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

I have a cute recipe for horse cupcakes that calls for white circus peanuts. I have looked for them everywhere. I found some mixed colors but I don’t need 20 lbs. Thede candies are hard to find. If anybody can tell me where I might fin d thse candiess I would appreciate it.

I am also looking for those white circus peanuts. My daughter is a horsie nut and I’d like to make them for her. If anyone has any info or maybe another idea for a horse head that would be great.
Thanks

I get a bag a month at least and definitely prefer Brach’s. Spangler’s is my second choice but Summer’s comment about Target’s version will require a visit this weekend.

BUT I am especially crazy about Brach’s Chicks and Rabbits (pastel-colored and similar). Enabling family members go around the stores at Easter sales, buy them, and drop them off at our house by the shopping bag. It is never enough.

I swear there is some slight flavor difference from the regular circus peanuts. They used to be pink, yellow, and purple but since red dye was removed they are now orange, yellow, and blue which to this day does not seem fitting for a candy representing spring. Each Easter I fear they will be discontinued and so the hoarding is reinforced. I once worked with a woman who had the same reaction and whose family “collected” them for her, giving me the confidence to ask sympathetic family members to do the same. I drive around at least once just before Easter to stake out the stores with the most remaining stock so I can come back and buy them out at the sale price.

In college I once ate 4 bags in a day (20 years ago) and that *did* make me sick. But it changed nothing in the long term.

It has also been suggested that this was some weird leftover from smoking marijuana but since I have never smoked marijuana, I always take this as a clue about past experiences of the person spouting the opinion!

This is my slam dunk candy fetish. It makes my wife half sick to see the bag(s) in the cabinet after 15 years of marriage but I just foolishly grin and she knows not to mess with it! Or the ones in my closet, dresser, car, and basement. They all eventually run out. She has the rest of the year to make fun of me. Circus peanuts get me by until the next spring….

For the people looking for different colored circus peanuts I don’t know how this will effect them but you could try dipping them is white chocolate or even pink dipping chocolate. Hope that works for you.

I ran across the horse cupcakes that need the white circus peanuts also. Has anyone found out where to get the white ones? the idea of dipping them in white chocolate seems ‘do-able’ tho. Has anyone tryed it?

You can order multi-colored circus peanuts directly from http://www.spanglercandy.com. You might have to buy in bulk, but they do have mixed boxes of orange (banana), white (vanilla), pink (cherry), and yellow (lemon).

I found a store that can order in the rainbow peanuts and would sell them mail order if there is enough interest. They weren’t aware how popular they were right now. The candy store is in Red Lodge montana. Phone number 406-446-1119. The rainbow assortment includes the white…it would be cheaper then buying the whole case from Spangler!!!!! I’m hoping enough people will show interest and I can get these white peanuts for the horse cupcakes for my daughters birthday in May.

Sorry about the repost but I got white circus peanuts…the Montana Candy Emporium in Red lodge…phone number is in above post. They are just mailing me the white ones…they are willing to seperate out the color!!! They are $6.99/lb and to ship would be another 5.65 (they ship priority).

Weird as I may be, whenever I have been really sick I will start dreaming of circus peanuts. So much that the dream includes me at the factory filling a big box. sick right. I also noticed that they changed(brachs) there ingrediant list. they no longer use tapioca flour in their circus peanuts and I did notice the difference. I sent them a letter asking why and they just sent me a coupon and said that they are made in Canada now.

Back in the 1990’s I worked in a drugstore (Payless, then taken over by Rite Aid-big step downhill!) At Easter time they used to carry the bags of the multi-colored circus Peanuts. Then about 10 years ago, they stopped carrying them (they still carry the orange circus peanuts).

I know they weren’t Brach’s, and looking at the multi-colored ones on Spangler’s page, they weren’t those either (these ones were more pastel colored than the Spamgler ones). There were pink, white and yellow ones in the bag (I can’t remember if there were any oranges ones or not.)

I always used to buy multiple bags of those every Easter, as I liked these much more than the orange-colored ones. I miss them!

I’ve tried the Brach’s chicks and Bunnies but they don’t make the grade.

The other weird Easter candy that I love is the “Brach’s Bunny Basket Eggs”, although I haven’t had any of those in a few years either.

I too remember eating the pastel ones in the 80’s and 90’s and they were lighter in color. Seems to me there was white, yellow, orange, pink, and I’m pretty sure there was a green also. I always look for them every time I pass the candy isle in a store. What memories…my Grandma would always have them at her house and get them out in the evenings for a snack.

I bought a container of ice cream at Publix supermarket yesterday called Banana Pudding. It is supposed to be banana ice cream with vanilla wafers and caramel, but I swear it tastes like circus peanuts. My husband and daughter who both like that candy totally agreed.

This is defnatly one my favorate candy’s growing up. However after recenly finding out that they contain not even a portion of peanuts at all I have made a vow of abstunance until at least one candy maker decides to change there deceaving product name.

It is the shape, hence the name peanut! also just in case someone has an alergy to peanuts , they must put it on the bag, that it dosnt contain any peanuts!. And so just keep eating them, like i do, they are awesome!

I agree with you Patti taht Circus Peanuts (which I now call Candy X) are very delicous. One my favorate deserts of alltime in fact. However; I don’t not like how the candy company’s try and pass them off of the front packadging. The disclamer shoud be on front if for som e reason peanuts are some kind of problem.
I also dont’ realy like the fact that candy manufacters are include the word “Peanut” in the prodoct name while they contain no peanuts because it’s like a slap in the face to one of Gerge Washington Carvars most famuos inventions. I think the peanut shoud be more reveared to honor the enginuity of famous Africand-Americans like him.
Candy X is delicous but I can’t in consius eat them anymore knowing what they’ve have now come to reprasent. I realy hope my Candy X pole will lead to awarness of that matters so peple will sign the petiton I making soon.

Hi, I also have the recipe book that uses white circus peanuts in them. The trick to finding them at a reasonable price is by entering assorted circus peanuts. I found a couple of sights, http://www.rauscountrystore.com and www.georgehowe.com. The prices were $4.99 a lb. and $3.29 a bag. I’m sure there were more sights, but these prices were good enough for me. By the way I am planning on using the white circus peanuts for the bunny feet that are in the garden. Happy baking! Wendy in Arizona

...And speaking of peanuts, I’m very disappointed! As a tree-nut and peanut-allergic consumer, who already does not have many choices I can safely eat from ‘the candy aisle’, I was *so* disappointed to read the warning - that has’nt been there in past years - that “Melster Circus ‘Peanuts’” “May contain peanut ingredients”. If they never did in the past, why change things? I have to also buy nut-free everything for my whole family to prevent dangerous nut traces in our home!...I can only hope Spangler’s, a company I’m very fond of, doesn’t have nuts or nut traces in their Circus Peanuts! Think Orange! Think creamy, dreamy, marshmallowy goodness!

Circus peanuts and I have had a semi-toxic relationship since early childhood. Even thenI was ridiculed by siblings cousins and friends(altho I would see their hands creeping into the bag while lambasting them.
I made the circus peanut jello atrocity last summer at family reunion. It looked like orange chunky vomit-it was quite the hit-lots of cell phone pics taken. Then after much juvenile laughter, we put it on the dinner table where the teenage kids were, and they actualyy ATE it. “Not bad” I think was the comment, but Lord only knows what the college kids were doing while grownups had their evening cocktail.We are having our 1st annual circus peanut fest this july. Trying out recipes and kids’ games-will let you know

I think they used to have these in Canada, but not anymore. Instead we have things made of the same consistency and banana flavour made in the shape of bananas (which makes a helluva lot more sense than the peanut shape I must say.) I love ‘em, but then I’m a bit on the weird side. I also love the marshmallow strawberries we have up here which are covered in sugar which remind me of those mushroom type guys in Mario. Mmmm.

I am addicted to these things, but only when I’m near them. I would purchase them on road trips as a kid as a response to some strange craving, and only be able to eat a few before I’d get sick of them.

But now, as an adult health nut that has learned to eat anything and everything for various reasons, for some reason, once I begin, I CAN NOT STOP EATING CIRCUS PEANUTS. Perhaps this is some form of pica, because I wouldn’t consider them “food.”

Tragically and hilariously, my girlfriend set out on an art project recently that turned into a serious problem for me - a dress made almost entirely out of circus peanuts. She bought about a dozen bags.

I ate most of those bags.

She had to buy more.

I ate much of what she bought to replace what I had already eaten, and she HAD TO BUY EVEN MORE. I eventually just purchased her a large number of bags to finish her project, and distanced myself from the situation until her dress was finished, and the remaining candy (now quite stale, BUT STILL EDIBLE!!!) was thrown away.

I LOVE circus peanuts. I love the banana flavor, the sugar rush, the chewiness and the way they dissolve in your mouth. When I used to work at Target, there would often be a bag of them that somehow got slashed open, and I would sneak circus peanuts and fill my pockets-and my mouth with them (otherwise they would be thrown into the giant trash-compactor with everything else that was broken or opened! But now, I usually get my circus peanuts at Big Lots. They have a nice big bag of them for a couple dollars, and sometimes they have yellow ones that have Sponge Bob on the bag.

Tha Bag of Candy Peanuts on this page…I need the brand name Please, Please, Please!!! I have bought them from Walmart for years and now they are not carrying them. I have been to 5 different locations and NONE ON THEIR SHELVES. I am carving them and have tried several different brands and they just don’t stand up to the ones you have at the top of your page. I want to buy them but I need the Brand name to locate them. I recognize the bag but can not see the brand name. Please help me out. Are they the ones you rated on your Blog - - Melser. Thanks

My grandmother always use to get these, but they were in different flavors - I remember the bag containing white, yellow, orange, and pink peanuts. I hated the banana flavored ones, but I loved some of the others. Sadly I haven’t seen the multicolored bags since I was a kid =(.

WOW such vitriol over a time honored treat. As you can guess, I love these things, though have not been able to find them in years. I too found this site looking for a recipe to make them myself. Glad I am not the only peanut freak!

I love circus peanuts..they are hard to find in our little city, so I’ve learned that I can air out regular marshmellows and get that same hard/soft peanut feel; they are nice and chewy, but the flavor is only marshmellow. Back to the reality that I DON’T HAVE ANY!

i actually never knew they were banana flavored until i read this.. my whole life ive tried to figure out what exact flavor they were, resulting in.. ok it’s just sugar flavor.. so that’s interesting…
I’m another one of those crazies whom my family looks at me and wonders why I eat these…

I Love Circus Peanuts. I guess it’s a love/hate relationship with this candy. I can’t understand why the dislike, but many people seem to not be able to stand them. I’ve been craving them lately, but they seem to be so much harder to find than when I was young. And the bags are always so small when I do find them.

Ugh! Second most hated thing by me (after genocide)... seriously, they are my #2 most hated candy, after candy-corn, which is utterly intolerable under any circumstance. I have always chosen to believe that a finite amount of circus peanuts were made somewhere around 1918, that they are shipped all over the country, and then back to the factory for recycling. I’m going to go buy a bag of Haribo colas, my favorite, just to scrub the thought of these from my mind…

I love circus peanuts. I buy a small bag (4 oz) about once a month & eat them within a week or so. My father-in-law loves them as well. No one else in our families likes them, but it’s not their dislike that is disappointing. It’s their attitude when we eat them. There’s always a disparaging comment or two of which they always say we’re probably the only two people on earth who eat them. Well, apparently not! I’m not sure why they cause such a hostile reaction.

That’s so funny and very true. I don’t understand why people are so hostile to the little candy peanut, but you are totally correct. Every time I eat these in front of someone I get that same disgusted reaction. Why with all the strange foods and obsessions out there, people are so reactive to this candy I will never understand. It’s weird, when I’m eating them I get the, “I hate those” response, but then that same person will ask to try them and then hate them again. My mother has done this over and over. I don’t want to convert people, just don’t eat my candy and then say you hate it!

I’m searching for a circus peanut recipe, but all the ones that I’ve found require me to use circus peanuts! I’m trying to make them, because they’re not on sale in England, so adding them isn’t an option. Surely the manufacturers don’t add them to their product. Does anyone know how I can make them without adding circus peanuts?

US gelatin is beef or pork based, though much of the Kosher gelatin is FISH based. The most common gelatin sold here, Knox, is a mix of beef and pork. (Gelatin sold in other countries would be different than Knox, google them for more information)

*I* would just as soon eat a pound of candy corn bought at a mall candy store (like at Vegas Planet Hollywood casino mall—I saw some Circus Peanuts…none for me…banana flavored/orange colored….you hit it there, Cybele, none for me…SK I wonder myself what that U like Trademark (TM) or Registrada (R) would be for..

Oh, as an aside, the article from 2003 by an author named David Templton quoted a few people and one is author Hilary Lifkin, quoting from her 2003 book “Candy and Me’ full of candy anecdotes involving her personal life. Another chapter just opened when I went to Amazon.com and downloaded the kindle file version. With Peppermint and Candy Corn, and knowing of their originating Lucky Charms, I just MIGHT try those variations..MAYBE, just maybe the “classic”? banana flavored one.

As C.May wrote, Circus Peanuts can be found as made by Brachs, Spangler, then more so by Melzer, but [by Cybele] an unreported amount by Farley [whose production of them is the only thing reported, I wonder what percentage is Farley’s compared to Brachs, Melzer or Spangler?]

This, I still think, is the best candy related site, and certainly in depth,too!

I saw some Meltzer Circus peanuts (with the clown on the bootom of the bag) ALSO at Dollar Tree last night (bought some Necco wafers and 16 oz. Diet Coke there). I don’t blame the blogger here for the analogy between Circus Peanuts’s regular banana smell and fingernail polish….!

Today I went to that same Dollar Tree I mentioned earlier, and bought and ate some Melster’s (no other brand there) CPs and enjoyed them…:) sufficent banana flavor but it DOES wind up a bit like fingernail polish.. Sonny, as I was at a 5 & 10 (as they’d be called years ago) Dollar Tree, they were…only a dollar.

Just had a bag yesterday for the super bowl because I knew it would be a 2 hour circus. I was right! The only time I would buy them is when watching, BCS Bowl Game, Super Bowl, and Basketball March Madness!

Disregaridng my first reply, I enjoy them…to some others..CVS and Rite-AID both carry Spangler’s (you’ll see the name) under their own respective brands (CVS, “Gold Emblem”, which DOES mneiton the banana flavor unlike the other packagers (:)) and Rite-Aid, “Pantry”). WHere I am THIS, like Melster’s el;sewhere, is what get repackaged. Also at Big Lots and Jo-Ann Fab ric store Queen City candies also carries Circus Peanuts (jury’s still out on whether Walgreen’s Nice brand is made by them or not, but one things certain, it’s not Spangler as far as I know).

Spanglers are excellent, but, among the other things that the bags say that they’re made with (in factories), they taste a bit at first like they went through some barbecue potato chips bags.

The ingredients also list pectin, and this makes the peanuts feel like Jello!

btw CVS Pharmacy has a ridiculously low price of 88 cents and also has Gold Emblem Candy Corn,too. (have no idea who makes that, maybe Brachs as they seem to be the main maker of that.)

sk, I wouldn’t even begin to know, I do know that Spangler’s imprints THEIR name on ALL of THEIR circus peanuts (no matter HOW the various largely drugstore brands that sell ‘em under their own name try to HIDE the Spangler manufacture!:))

Too bad (to my knowledge!) that back in the 60s apparently NO one wanted to advertise any specific brand of Circus Peanuts with an animated ad with an elephant voiced by, or like, Jimmy Durante going “Everyone’s gettin’ into da act of circus peanut making, but only”(fill in fave brand____) “makes da best” then chased by chimps because of the banana flavor!

Melissa, I know about those “Circus Peanut” bananas…Some mentioned them being with strawberry marshmallows in Canada and here in the USA in Pic and Save/Big Lots, there used to be some.

But I’m just content to have the peanuts, of which Yesterday I bought a few bags (yeah I’m
a, pun, sucker for those). Hey, when Cybele wrote the article the “Hairspray” movie came out—that’s where Amanda Bynes as early 60s bobbysoxer Penny Pingleton, as a running gag/trademark sucks lollipops, which another circus peanut maker Spangler is best known for (Dum Dum)‘s, and Penny’s lollipops in Hairspray look like Dum Dums..wonder whose brand of Dum Dums were used…

I believe the off-brand Family Dollar brand are Melster or Sathers, or Brachs—-everyone who’s ever tasted a Spangler knows even their NORMAL Circus Peanuts have a rather different texture and lighter flavor..one website mentions the reason is the porksin gelatin but all circus peanuts I believe have used that. Pectin is used also in Spangler’s case, so maybe THAT’s the basis for the slight flavor difference..and their tend to be a bit on the fluffy side, with the other brands also having the bubblegum taste..hmmm

BTW, not to hog this anymore than I’ve been, but I’ve noticed Rite/Aid, which had been selling as I mentioned Spangler Circus Peanuts under the Pantry banner of theirs, has been selling BIG BULK Melster Circus Peanuts under the manufactuer name—-first time I noticed it was at one of the several RITE AIDS that I saw this, the first of them, and it was 8 servings x 4 “peanuts”, 32, bigger than what I saw…..

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